Tag Archives: Johnson City

Energy Mentor Network company Stone Mountain Technologies Inc. (SMTI) has closed on a Round-A investment vehicle with a strategic investor.

The multi-million dollar capital infusion will allow SMTI to increase development velocity of its ultra-high efficiency space and water heating technology, supplementing the recently announced $2.7 million grant from the US Department of Energy.

“In addition to the capital investment, our new strategic partner brings high volume and quality HVAC component manufacturing expertise to the table, which will smooth our transition from R&D to manufacturing over the next 24 to 30 months,” said Michael Garrabrant, President & CEO of SMTI. “We have a shared vision the technology under development at SMTI will be a major player in the global space and water heating market in the near future.”

Stone Mountain Technologies, based in Johnson City, Tennessee, is an early-stage venture developing the next generation of high efficiency heating appliances for homes and businesses. SMTI’s technology, based on its gas absorption thermodynamic cycle, can be harnessed across a wide variety of applications, including space, water, and pool heating.

SMTI is developing partnerships with original equipment manufacturers that sell heating appliances such as furnaces, boilers, and water heaters. SMTI will manufacture its core enabling technology in Tennessee. This enables OEMs around the world to offer customized appliances to their customers with total fuel efficiencies of approximately 140% and outstanding economics.

The Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council is featuring the companies benefiting from the Energy Mentor Network program, which offers industry specific expertise from experienced mentors.

The Energy Mentor Network‘s goal is to foster the growth of Tennessee advanced energy technologies and startups by connecting entrepreneurs with mentors. This gives Tennessee yet another advantage in grabbing its more than fair share of the $1.3 trillion global advanced energy market.

The Energy Mentor Network is run by the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council in partnership with Launch Tennessee.

In broad strokes, the Energy Mentor Network pairs mentors with promising new companies and entrepreneurs through a structured program involving panel presentations and mentoring sessions.

The purpose of the program is to develop quality startups. After completing the program, startups will have an investable pitch deck, a rock solid business model and a plan to establish more traction. These tools will position Tennessee’s entrepreneurs to raise capital, request other funds like SBIR grants, and scale their company.

TAEBC is featuring EMN company One Scientific. Headquartered in Johnson City, Tennessee, One Scientific Inc. is committed to empowering the world with a sustainable source of fuel. With specialization in advanced manufacturing research & development, its award-winning team has created two significant early stage products that when commercialized will have the ability to produce a source of sustainable hydrogen for Fuel Cell Vehicle fueling stations and stand-alone fuel cell power generation.

TAEBC is currently accepting applications from Tennessee advanced energy companies to apply for the Energy Mentor Network program. If you are interested in this opportunity, please visit the “For Startups” section of the Energy Mentor Network portion of TAEBC’s website.

The Building Technologies Office (BTO) announced it is investing up to $15.8 million in 13 projects, including EMN Company Stone Mountain Technologies Inc.’s HVAC&R project, that will drive innovation in early-stage research and development for advanced building technologies.

These innovations will serve as a foundation for future technological developments and reductions in building energy consumption. DOE has said the outcomes and advancements of the selected technologies will ultimately result in improving the efficiency of our nation’s buildings and will help Americans save energy.

The Building Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT FOA) awards this year span the building technology innovation spectrum, from novel materials exploration that will lead to more efficient insulation and windows, to exploration and validation of both electric- and fuel-driven hybrid vapor compression technologies for more efficient heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R), as well as advanced control algorithms, modeling, and analytics for reducing the power consumption of miscellaneous electric loads (MELs).

SMTI is a leading developer of cost effective, next generation heating technologies using sorption heat pump cycles. The company’s “thermal compressor” products enable a major leap forward in the way homes, businesses, and water are heated, reducing energy costs, improving comfort, and lowering CO2 emissions.

TAEBC is currently accepting applications from Tennessee advanced energy companies to apply for the Energy Mentor Network program. If you are interested in this opportunity, please visit the “For Startups” section of the Energy Mentor Network portion of TAEBC’s website.

By Tom Ballard, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Initiatives, Pershing Yoakley & Associates, and President of the Board of Directors, Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council

The name of our organization – Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council – is a mouthful, and our acronym – TAEBC – does not roll off the tongue easily.

Nevertheless, no one would question the important role that this new, statewide not-for-profit organization plays in advancing the interests of a burgeoning and important contributor to the Volunteer State’s economy.

From Renewable Algal Energy in Johnson City to the Memphis Bioworks Foundation about 550 miles to the west, Tennessee is home to a vast array of established commercial entities, research organizations, and start-ups focused on technologies that contribute to our nation’s energy independence.

TAEBC takes a broad definitional view of the term “advanced energy.” As such, we are pleased to include as members and partners global players like Alstom (nuclear energy) and Schneider Electric (energy management), technology start-ups like Silicon Ranch Corporation (solar) and Top Five Corporation (composites), top research organizations like Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and energy consulting firms like Strata-G.

As Tennessee’s only organization focused solely on companies in the advanced energy space, TAEBC has established a strong track record in its formative two years.

We worked with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and Pathway Lending to produce Tennessee’s Advanced Energy Asset Inventory, the first document of its kind dedicated to promoting the use of advanced energy technologies and assisting the development of Tennessee businesses in the emerging advanced energy sector.

We held three listening sessions – one each in Chattanooga, Knoxville and LaVergne – that drew more than 150 participants. During two of these sessions, we facilitated vibrant feedback sessions with top administrators from the U.S. Department of Energy.

We have partnered with the Energy Foundation to capitalize on that organization’s strong network and draw on its history of “best practices.”

In the months ahead, we will be hosting additional listening sessions, including West Tennessee, as we focus on understanding how to best serve this important industry sector.

You don’t have to be directly in advanced energy to be a member of TAEBC; certainly my employer is not. PYA does believe that technology advancements are critical to our state’s economy. If you share similar views, I invite you to join our organization and become an advanced energy evangelist. It’s as simple as clicking here.

Pershing Yoakley & Associates is the nation’s 10th largest privately held healthcare consulting company. Headquartered in Knoxville, PYA also has offices in Atlanta, Kansas City, Nashville, and Tampa. Tom Ballard is Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Initiatives for PYA and also Chief Operating Officer of PYA Analytics, LLC. The author has retired twice – from the University of Tennessee as Vice President for Public and Governmental Relations and from Oak Ridge National Laboratory as Director of Partnerships.